Tropism in azalea and lily flowers

Tropic responses were examined in azalea Rhododendrom pulchrum and lily Lilium cv. 'Casablanca' flowers. Orientation of the flowers in these two species depicts several up/down characteristics, such as angle of the corolla opening, alignment or configuration of a specific petal at the top, plus direction in the curved tip of the pistil and stamen. Gravity was found to be the prime factor, with light as a secondary signal that determines gravitropism in the pistil of the azalea. Within the azalea, sedimented amyloplasts were observed throughout the cells along the inner layers below the epidermis. In lily flowers, no sedimented amyloplasts were found in style cells, and phototropic responses caused upward bending of the pistil. Responses of lily pistils to monochromatic light were consistent with the action spectrum for phototropism in the shoots of monocotyledonous plants. We discuss how these features may increase the fitness for pollination in these two species.